Phenom’s Open Gym Tour — Chapel Hill High School (Chapel Hill, NC)

2017-18: 16-11 (10-4 in Conference)Coaches in the Gym: Dartmouth, Lynchburg

The Storylines

Senior Leadership

While this team has talent, there is no question that this is a senior led team. Naturally 6’11 David Elien (will speak more about below) will garner the most attention, however it’s the wings who will take this team as far as they will go.

6’3” 2019 Ben Gaynes will be the leader of this team. He is coming off of a junior year that saw him average 9 points on 40% shooting from beyond the arc. He is a tough and fundamentally solid player who is an incredibly high academic and has the look of someone who will lead this team in scoring.

Looking at the other wing spot, you have 6’1 2019 Drew Gilleskie. Gilleskie is incredibly strong and very explosive who does all the tough guy stuff. He defends multiple positions and is a very good rebounder. Gilleskie will be the one who does the dirty work and produces across the stat line and should see his college recruitment pick up rapidly this season.

Rim Protection

Walking onto the floor, David Elien will immediately catch your attention. He is a lengthy, athletic and broad shouldered 6’11” specimen. Elien is new to the game of basketball, but has rapidly improved since last year. Elien has all the tools, he runs the floor incredibly well and is a strong, 2-handed rebounder both in and around his area.

Last year, Elien averaged 7 rebounds and 3 blocks per game while shooting 62% from the field. The incredibly high academic big man has already had the likes of Dartmouth and Wofford in to see him, look for the offers to start flowing in for him this year and look for his rebounding and blocked shot numbers to open eyes.

Point Guard Ready to Step Up

Graduated is leading scorer and starting point guard Elijah Haynes. Now its time for 6’1” 2020 Isaac Sinclair to take the rains. The lefty Sinclair is a natural leader, who has the ball on a string. He can really shoot the ball and carries a very high IQ. It will be his spot to lose but for this team to have success, the point guard position will need to step up and have a big year.

Freshman Watch

Look for freshman Jake Chisolm to make a move in the rotation here. The 5’11” guard can flat our shoot it. He may make a run at a starting spot but will certainly be in the rotation.

Outlook

This is a very interesting and intriguing team. They have veteran leadership to go with young talent. They have good size and the ability to really shoot the ball from multiple positions. Playing in a very tough conference this will be an interesting year however, they will be in the game.